Minutewomen outplay Orange overall, defeats Syracuse 2-1

AMHERST, Mass. -- In its final non-conference contest of the season, UMass defeated No. 1 Syracuse 2-1 at Garber Field on Thursday. After falling behind 1-0 in the 24th minute, the Minutewomen responded with goals from Noralie Weusthuis and Thando Zono to secure the victory.

Zono provided the decisive goal in the contest during the 63rd minute of play, her fifth tally of the season. Allie Sabia controlled possession to begin the attacking run and sent a pass to Zono. After the ball trickled through the legs of a Syracuse defender, Zono ripped a shot into the left side of the cage just inside the post to push UMass ahead, 2-1 at the 62:55 mark.

Zono's goal came slightly more than five minutes after Weusthuis equalized the contest with a re-direction at the 56:16 mark. Lauren Allymohamed earned her first assist of the season as Allymohamed delivered a perfect pass from outside of the circle to Weusthuis' waiting stick.

Alyssa Manley earned Syracuse's lone goal of the game, only the second instance this season in which the Orange have been limited to one goal in a contest. Manley delivered the tally at the 23:37 mark of play, doing so with a rebound attempt after UMass freshman goalkeeper Sam Carlino saved the initial shot by Stephanie Hussey.

The Minutewomen outshot Syracuse 15-9 while also earning the advantage in on-target attempts 8-6. The Orange secured six penalty corners to UMass' four while Carlino stopped four shots to five saves by Syracuse goalkeeper Leann Stiver.